BATIM: Next Generation
by Arianna Ross
Summary: During the thirty years after Henry has left the studio, he had a daughter, Haesel. Follow Haesel and her friends as they discover exactly why Henry avoided talking of his work with the Characters. What secrets are so awful they have to be hidden behind smiles? (Will follow the game's chapters 1-4 but will diverge from there.) Rating T.
1. Prologue

**Bluh havent had the chance to work on anything but its summer now and i figure why the heck not with a new story.  
Reminders**

 **1 Reverse Pines is up for grabs. I have no inspiration for it and if anyone wants to finish it PM me.**

 **2 SAO-Style World is on hold until I can get Emma to work on the next part. However there is a good chance it is dead.**

 **Disclaimer: I Dont own Bendy and the Ink Machine, Im just using the characters made by the Meatly.**

 _Haesel is the daughter of Henry and followed in his footsteps in being an Animator._

 _Drew is Haesel's childhood friend and is a composer for Haesel's shorts._

 _Kaylee is Haesel's roommate in college and a musician, she plays Drew's pieces for Haesel's shorts._

 _Lewis is Drew's roommate in college and another animator who collaborates with Haesel._

 _Mariah is Lewis' twin sister and a computer genius. She helps with digitizing the shorts on a blog that she made._

 **Without a further ado, Onto the Story!**

 **Prologue**

Haesel was working on the next portion of her short for Mackenzie Muse, the original character she and Lewis had created when a knock sounded on the door of the apartment.

'How strange. Who would be knock on the door this late at night? Not to mention we do have a doorbell.' Haesel thought as she set aside the sketchbook and stood from her nest of blankets and pillows.

Pulling her sleep clothes back out the scrunched up way they became while she worked, Haesel padded through the apartment near silently, mindful of Kaylee who was asleep, to the front door. Undoing the chain after checking through the peephole, Haesel found only a letter on the doorstep, addressed to her.

'What the hell?' Haesel regarded the letter as she redid the chain and bolt, making her way to the kitchen where the letter openers were.

"Evenin' princess. Whatcha got there?" Drew slurred as he made his way to the fridge for some of the berries that Mariah had bought the day before.

"Letter that just came. Didn't see who left it though. Weren't you asleep?" Haesel replied, shooting a confused glance at Drew over the letter.

"Maybe. Or more like I was avoiding Kay again, Haze. What it say?" Drew shrugged, trying to look at the letter in Haesel's hands.

"Its a letter from a co-worker of Dad's. Joey Drew? I think Dad said he went crazy, fired the majority of the company after Dad left for the war when he was drafted and then he and I think three other workers disappeared. I think Dad said that Sammy Lawrence, Susie Campbell and Wally Franks never were seen or heard from after the company shut down. What I don't get is why he is sending me a letter now asking me to come to the old studio for something. I shouldn't-"

"Should go! Haesel this is a great opportunity to learn from one of the best Animators besides your dad. He can give you more insight on Bendy and those other two cartoons you love to draw. I doubt he is actually crazy, I personally think Mr. Henry and this Joey Drew just got in a fight when Mr. Henry left and there is still some bitterness between them." Drew interrupted, almost pouncing on the poor twenty-six year old.

"You, my dear friend, are sleep drunk and need to get back to bed. Go back to your girlfriend and stop avoidin' her every wakin' hour. Get!" Haesel replied, stuffing the letter back into its envelope and sliding it into her mail folder in the kitchen.

Drew just chuckled as he made his way down the hall calling,

"Don't stay up till morning light working Haze. We have a breakfast date tomorrow with the others."

Haesel mutter something in the affirmative after him as she made herself some sleep tea and cleaned up the others mess from dinner that they probably hoped she would be too sleepy to actually notice.

Again, Haesel quietly padded down the hall, pass Kay and Lewis' room, Mariah and Drew's room to the last bedroom that was hers. Moving the sketchbook from her bed to the desk her dad had gotten for her once she finished college and moved into the apartment with the others. Her eyes skimmed over the various sketches of Bendy, Boris, Alice and Mackenzie and pages of music that Drew left for her to match with the shorts.

'What could Joey want to show me? What is so bad that dad had to avoid talking about his work at the studio before the war? Or more importantly, how does Joey know of me? Dad left four years before I born. Over-thinking much, Haze? Drew's right. I need sleep.' Haesel thought, shaking her head as she made her way to bed, turning off her lamp.

Unknown to any of the occupants of the apartment, one of Haesel's larger complete sketches of Bendy went from smiling to frowning as he used some of his ink to write a message.

 _'Do not trust the Creator, He has lied to Us!'_

 **Whelp I hope y'all like this. Check out my poll on what fandom my next story should be for.**

 **As always,**

 **Ciao!**

 **-Cate**


	2. Chapter 1

**Sup peeps. Gotta do something with my free time before camps start for me.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Bendy and the Ink Machine but I do own Haesel and her friends. And the plot.**

 **Without further ado, Onto the story!**

 **Chapter 1**

Haesel woke to the sounds of noisy people who have no care for the fact that she was still asleep and hadn't yet gotten up for the day. Suddenly, a loud bang sounded throughout the apartment before someone tried to break down Haesel's bedroom door.

"Haze, when did this letter come in? And why haven't we discussed it yet?" Mariah practically screamed, possibly leaving fist sized dents in the wooden door.

"Mariah, I know you aren't snooping through my mail because if you are, I'm gonna kick your ass for it." Haesel growled back, slinking from the warm confines of her bed to open the door.

Mariah had the decency to look sheepish as she handed over the letter she stole out of Haesel's mail folder and made her way back to the others while the so-called 'Beast of the Morning' went through her morning routine, pulling on her black clothing, consisting of a flowing shirt, shorts and her favorite converse and making her way to the kitchen, pulling her short hair into place before accepting her usual cup of tea from Drew.

"Mornin' Haze. I did not tell her it was there." Drew said, sipping at his own cup of coffee as he looked over the newspaper.

"Yo if we are going to breakfast, let's get going." Lewis called from the front door.

Kaylee already had one foot out the door, bouncing in her mint sandals and her blonde curls swaying from the movement. Her curls ended at her shoulders versus the raven black of Haesel's pixie cut and having a deep tan in contrast to Haesel's pale complexion would give one the impression of opposing forces rather than best friends.

"Hold your damn horses Lew, I just woke up 'cause of your snooping sister. Let me at least grab my bag and we can discuss the letter." Haesel yelled back, grumbling about annoying jerks who couldn't let her finish the vital cup of tea.

"Actually, doll, you left your bag in the front room last night after our midnight scare. I'll grab it on the way out. Hurry up sweetheart." Drew muttered as he grabbed the keys to his truck, the only vehicle owned by the group that was large enough to fit all the young adults.

"Bluh, Drew. I wanted to actually brush my teeth but whatever. Just don't go through it." Haesel called over her shoulder as she went towards her master suite.

Putting in her earbuds and putting on her chillin' mix, Haesel was quick in brushing out her hair and teeth and was halfway back out the door when a piece of paper caught her attention.

'Oh Hell no! How did this happen?' Haesel thought as she carried the paper with her to the curb after closing and locking the door.

"Who the hell was in my room? Because one of my drawings is ruined. And if one of you guys think this is funny, I swear on my father's favorite reel of Bendy, I will hurt you." Haesel questioned through the open window, shoving the paper onto Lewis' lap.

"Not me, doll, you saw me enter my room last night." Drew instantly answered, grabbing the paper and looking it over before passing it back to the other girls. "Creepy, it looks like you actually dripped the ink on the page. It actually looks like it is still wet." Kaylee piped up as Mariah nodded along.

"None of us would dare to go into the cave of the Beast, it is certain death, Haze. Sure you didn't draw this?" Lewis spoke as said woman climbed in the back along side Kaylee, taking back the paper and sliding it into a plastic sleeve to protect it.

"I would remember drawing the little devil darlin' as anything other than happy. Not to mention who does 'The Creator' refer to? It doesn't mean me or Lewis. It could mean Dad, but I seriously doubt it, since it has been thirty years since he set foot in that old studio. The last person it could refer to is this "Joey Drew" Dad never talked about. I don't know, but something crazy is going on. I mean look at the paper, it is the same age as the piece would be with my original. Its nearly impossible to mimic this kind of age." Haesel continued to ramble on the drive, usually becoming the white noise in the car.

Lucky for the others, Haesel managed to cool down before they reached the restaurant, so as to not repeat _that_ incidient again. Conversation turned from peeved monologue to discussion of the next steps in the production of the comics for Makenzie and the possiblity of creating more characters to befriend the minx and just doing appreciation art for the original characters that inspired the shorts in the first place. The entire meal had barely passed when the brunette twins turned their attention to the childhood friends about what had picqued their interest in the first place when they entered the kitchen that morning.

"So darling Haze, what is up with the mystery letter you recieved, to misquote Drew 'during the midnight scare', last night. Who is it from?" Lewis dragged a Cheshire smile across his lips that was eerie and far too similar to the one on Mariah's.

"Lewis, you ass, nosy much? The letter is from my dad's old boss before the war. He wanted to meet with me for something involving the animation biz. What concerns me is two things. One, how in hell's good name did he know my address and two, how did he know about me? I was born four years after Dad left and by then Dad had lost all contact with any of his previous co-workers. Should I accept his invitation? I don't know yet. I need time to decide." Haesel replied, glaring at the twins over the rim of her glass of cranberry juice as she absent-mindedly chewed on it slightly.

The car carried a charged silence as the group made their way back to the apartment, each and everyone lost in his or her own thoughts. Haesel stopped short on her way into the apartment when she noticed the door was ajar.

"I closed that on the way on my out. I locked it. Who got in?" Haesel muttered as she signal the others to shut the hell up.

With steps like a cat, Haesel made her way through the apartment checking every room carefully. Who ever was in the apartment was most definitely in her bedroom, which did not sit well in her stomach.

"Where is it? Where is it?!" The figure muttered to themself as they rummaged throughout Haesel's workspace.

"You sure have nerve coming in here, expecially breaking and entering an apartment that doesn't belong to you. Hands up and where I can see them. I want to make sure you aren't stealing anything of mine." Haesel coldly said, blocking the intruder's only viable exit, effectively trapping them in her bedroom.

 **Cliffhanger!**

 **Figure I end it here since it is currently 1am and Im half asleep as i write this next to my sister, making many mistakes. Geez i need to get my life together.**

 **SAO will be re-written with different relationships, cause thats what Em and I agreed.**

 **Ciao!**


	3. Chapter 2

**Here is a longer chapter for being absent for a while.**

 **Without further ado, Onto the Story!**

 **Chapter 2**

Her glare pierced the back of the person, shadowed by the closed curtains and Haesel's own figure blocking out light.

"I said to turn around, you prick. You are breaking and entering my home and wreaking my room." Haesel growled, her eyes narrowing further as she hear the others enter the apartment and coming close enough to hear the conversation but not crowd Haesel.

Slowly, the figure, now identifiable as a guy close to her father's age, turned and Haesel saw slightly crazy eyes meet her own.

"My name is Shawn Flynn. Did you get a letter from a guy named Joey Drew recently, as in last night? And if so, was he asking you to meet him at the old studio?" Shawn asked, his Irish accent being subconsciously noted by the animator.

"Yeah I did. What are you looking for exactly in my room? The note or something else?" Haesel asked, her voice calmer now the intruder was identified.

Moving her hand slowly, she flicked on the light so she could see the person clearly, only for him to yell too late about the light.

What she saw shocked her and scared Mariah, who was right behind the animator. Half deformed and cover in what looked to be ink that was far too thick and had been left in a bottle for too long, Shawn created a gruesome picture as he appeared to be made of both flesh and ink. One eye was completely sunken in his face, ink dripping over it to obscure the sight while the other was bloodshot. Half of his hair was matted by ink while other was stuck together by blood, as if someone tried to knock him out but missed the vital point and caused a head wound. His clothes seemed far to big for him, sagging if not for the fact they were soaked in ink making them stiff.

"What happened to you, Shawn? Who did this to you?" Haesel asked while Mariah and Lewis started talking over each other.

Seeing the man was about to collapse, Haesel signaled for Drew to help her get the distraught man to her desk seat when his legs finally gave out on him.

Kaylee brought a mug of Haesel's tea for the man, who gratefully accepted the warm ceramic, even if he didn't drink from it.

"Joey Drew did. Who ever he fired thirty years ago have been getting letters, all different but with the same basic message. 'Come to the studio for a surprise.' That man is not to be trusted. I was a fool to return to that place, and I barely managed to get away from that madman and his plans with my memory intact. As for what he caused to happen, I can't tell you much about it. What I can tell you must be told in utter privacy." Shawn said, looking at the quartet in the doorway.

"Figure it out fast, Princess. We'll be in the kitchen when you need us." Drew said, pushing the others out before closing the door.

Taking a breath before turning back, Haesel watched for a few seconds as Shawn studied that character sheets pinned all over the room on the million cork-boards she had. His focus was on the two sitting over her bed.

"Who is this character? I've never seen her before." Shawn pointed.

"Mackenzie Muse. She was my own original character, well she is based on one of my dad's own ideas mixed together with unique assets by me. I do shorts for her. Wanna see some of them?" Haesel replied, cautioned as she moved closer to access her laptop.

Shawn only nodded to the strange animator, watching her with a paranoid eye as she pulled up the website with the shorts. Pulling up one, she turned her attention to the toy maker in her chair. His attention was on the screen, focused on the characters and their actions.

"Joey had this song playing, I remember that. He was playing these shorts while he worked. What he does is use black magic and ink to strip a person of their mind. Sometimes he uses a drawing to transform them. Other times its just ink and magic. No one gets out alive." Shawn said, barely flicking his eyes to the young lady beside him before returning to the screen.

Haesel sat on her bed, watching the old toy maker with caution as she digested the information given to her. Why was Joey Drew targeting her specifically? Shawn said he recognized the tune, something that could only be heard on the site as the tunes were each uniquely created for the episodes. He also said that the shorts were played while Joey worked, so how did he find the website in the first place? They weren't as popular as studios and had a very small following. There was also the fact that even with the bios on the website, there was no personal information that could lead anyone to the apartment. There was also no connection between Haesel and Joey Drew Studios other than her father, who had been out of the business for four years by the time she was born, and nothing on her bio could connect her to the studio other than her last name, which would be a stretch to connect. So that left only one option, Joey Drew in some way had stalked her in her daily life to find out information she didn't share with others.

"Mr. Flynn, is there anything else you can remember when you were at the studio that Mr. Drew mentioned that could clue you in as to why he was targeting me? Dad would have been a better choice if he was getting revenge on the old workers." Haesel said, her brow furrowing at the path her thoughts had taken.

"Joey mentioned that you were Henry's only child. No one else had any. I don't even know who Henry is, many of the people who worked there were told by older workers that was a taboo subject. Joey went crazy if anyone mentioned him or messed with the lone work desk." Shawn replied, turning to face the young animator.

"Miss Ross, I'm begging of ya, don't go to the studio. I don't what Mr. Drew is planning for you, but it sure isn't going to be pleasant."

Shawn started to lunge to grab Haesel's hand when he noticed the thinner sitting in the trashcan, tightly sealed. There wasn't a single bottle of ink in there, so it struck Shawn's interest.

"Why is this in the trash? An animator like yourself should have it sitting somewhere you can access it when you mess up." Shawn went to reach it with his ink hand.

Haesel's hand had a bruising grip on his wrist, stopping it short of touching the bottle.

"It's in the trash because there is thinner on the outside of the bottle and that will burn like acid on your ink half. I rarely make mistakes in my work as it is. Leave it alone. Now I think it best of you get going home or someplace where Mr. Drew won't be able to find you. As it stands, Mr. Drew is acting like a coward by targeting me if he wants Dad, so I'm gonna show him that I'm not one to be messed with. I have four people who keep constant track of what I do in my daily life and they know how punctual I prefer to be, so if anything becomes amiss, they know where to start. Drew will see you out and to where ever it is you need to hide away from the world." Haesel said, her voice like ice as she spoke, much different from how she spoke before.

Shawn could have sworn he saw a demon shadow on the wall behind her, taking her shape with horns and a flicking tail. The onyx eyes were like stone as she opened her door to let the old man out of her room. Drew, having known Haesel the longest, could pick out when her mood changed the atmosphere to a much colder type.

Once Shawn was clear of the doorway, it was slammed and locked, sealing the animator in the room.

"Sorry bout Princess, she can be a handful with the switching moods. I've known her since Mr. Ross brought her back to his home one night after she went missing, and I still don't know everything about her. Haesel is very secretive about everything, especially when it concerns her family. Henry disappeared a few years back and she took it pretty bad and shut everything out. She is like a sister to me, so it was tough to watch her break like that. Out of all of us, the rarest to see crumble is Haesel, she just always seems to be so strong at times its hard to remember that she is actually human at times." Drew said, guiding Shawn towards the front of the apartment.

Haesel refused to appear from her room for the rest of the night, worrying her friends with the cold shoulder. Even when Drew tried to get her to eat something, all he got in return was grumbles and the sound of a shattering bottle, possibly one of the many ink bottles that littered her room. The others focused on their nightly routines, casting worried glances towards Haesel's door as it remained shut.

Drew was the last up and tried to focus on anything but what he had saw when Haesel's sent Shawn from her room. In all the years he had know the Rosses, Haesel has always been a bit open to him so he could always read her and the situation that she was in. When her eyes had met his across the hallway from her room to the kitchen, they were unreadable as the gems that they mimic. Sighing, Drew put the few things that got left out away and shutting off the lights as he went down the hall.

Haesel's door was cracked enough that one could look in but Haesel would have to shift in order see the others. Her lamp was on and Drew could see clear as day on the wall Haesel's shadow as he would see any day of in the sun on one of their outings, with he exception of the fact there was devil horns nestled in longer curls that resembled Mackenzie's rather than the ones on Haesel's head and a devil's tail was flicking back and for behind her. When Shawn had first left the room at the end of the hall, he had seemed shaken as if he was seeing things he thought he only saw in the horror film that his old workplace had become. Now Drew could see that might had not have been the case and that there could be more to the eye when it came to the young animator that he had known since they were only five.

The next morning, however, her door was shut tight again as if it hadn't been open during the night, as if Drew didn't see anything amiss. None of the others saw anything out of the ordinary with the young animator shutting herself away, as was per usual her routine with editing together the shorts with their music to be put on the website. It had been a while since their last upload and some of the more avid fans were constantly commenting about wanting a new short. The only thing that was off was the smell of butterscotch that seemed to hang in the air everywhere in the apartment, along with the slight sour note left from the ink. Drew knew that those two scents together usually meant Haesel's movements, as ink always stained her fingers and there was a supply of candy wrappers in her room, even though it was obvious that she was still secluded away in her room at the other end of the apartment.

"Have any of you seen Haesel this morning? She should have come out by now due to her want of food." Drew asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"I didn't get an answer when I knocked on her door this morning. Maybe she got an early start?" Kaylee replied, eating her breakfast while scrolling through her phone.

"No way, with as a light sleeper as Haze is, there is no way she didn't hear that knocking and there is also the fact she is always the last up out of all of us. Why would she be gone so early in the morning, considering she be having to get up at 5 to be up before Lewis." Mariah commented from the living room, typing away at her laptop.

Drew frowned at the statement and set his coffee down behind him before moving towards the bedrooms. For as long as he knew Haesel, she hated being up early and liked to be up till the early hours. Knocking on the door, Drew listened for any movement in the room before trying the handle, surprised when moved with his hand.

Haesel was known for keeping everything under lock and key, a file cabinet for her sorted episodes and music, and a locked box for her materials under her bed. Whenever she was out of the apartment without the others, her room also got locked to keep her things from being messed with. Drew went in, flicking on the light.

Haesel was no where to be seen, and her bag was gone along with the letter from Joey Drew.

 **Cliffhanger. I had so much trouble trying to finish this without my laptop being stupid and making it hard for me to edit while typing bc the on screen keyboard kept popping up every time I clicked a new place to edit.**

 **Next chapter: Haesel enters the Studio and Chapter 1 of the game is written by me to my best effort (which is to say is very lacking)**


	4. Chapter 3

**So my plan is to have a switching POV with Drew and Haesel, him trying to looking into the past of Henry and his work while she is dealing with what had become of the studio.**

 **Haesel**

Haesel looked up at the dilapidated building, boarded up to the teeth and suspiciously looking like it came out of a cartoon itself. The door hung open, possibly signifying the fact there could be another person inside the dark building beside the owner. Double checking the address written on the back of the note, Haesel heaved a heavy sigh before hiking up her bag on her shoulder. She hated to have leave her friends in the dark about where she went, but something about the note she got from Joey didn't sit right with the young animator. Pushing open the door, Haesel stopped in the front hallway to let her adjust from the bright sunlight to the dimly lit studio. The front door swung shut, almost causing the stoic animator to jump.

"Alright Joey, Lets see what you went through all the trouble of tracking me down to show. I can only hope Drew doesn't pester Henry about this." Haesel muttered to herself as she walked carefully further in, unaware of the ink trailing behind her.

A short hallway off to her left caught her attention, so she decided to check there first. Tucked in a corner to her left was a single old drawing desk, character sheets tacked around on the walls. Seeing a set up similar to her own, which was a mimicry of Henry's, had her smiling the small smile that no one every got to see. She knew in an instant this had been Henry's desk when he worked there, where he created some of her favorite shorts with the little devil darling. Behind her, was a newer animation area, possibly built after her father left the studio. Nothing seemed of interest to her so she moved along back toward the main area and to the rest of the studio.

Following the studio's signs, it was a surprise when she found ink staining the wall, spelling 'Dreams Do Come True'.

"Who the hell needs this much ink anyway? Not my top priority, but who left this here? I hope I can help others, if they are here like Mr. Flynn said." Haesel continued to mutter to herself as she avoided the ink puddles.

Eventually she made her way to the room that said Ink Machine on it. Looking around she noted the chains diving into a pit on the level below where she stood, and a switch that most likely operated the chains. The power box next to it, however, was empty.

"Good grief. Looks like I'm going to be handling power cores. Maybe there are extra nearby." Haesel muttered as she started to scan the area around her.

One of the cores was on the shelf and the other in a chest in front of it with a gear. Deciding to leave the strange gear alone for now, Haesel turned her attention back to the switch and its power box.

Sliding in the cores, Haesel saw out of the corner her eye what looked like energy move through the wires to the switch, as if she was in a cartoon.

"Creepy." She said as she pulled down on the switch.

Once the chains stopped screeching from disuse, they started to haul something up from the depth of the building, prompting the thought of 'how deep is this place?', and showed the fruit of Joey Drew's labors.

The ink machine was massive and impressive. The very machine that created the life she had gave her the creeps, almost as if someone was watching her from behind. Moving back from the edge, the animator started to look around for a way to start it, even with thoughts urging her to leave the studio, going back home to her friends and telling her father of what had happened, and to leave the place that could very well become her prison. But another part urged her on, further into the studio, begging her to investigate, to help, to free the people she hoped weren't but knew were trapped in its depths with a monster in human form.

Turning from the machine, she steeled her nerves and made her way back through the halls. Despite Shawn Flynn's warnings of what Joey Drew was doing to the employees, Haesel knew she had to do something from the inside while Drew would be working from the outside, if she knew her best friend well enough. A new area opened up and Haesel hesitated at the entrance. On one hand, going deeper meant that she would be signing away her soul to the devil in the walls, if she had one, while on the other mean she was willing condemning the people who came before her to death and eternal damnation if she left now.

The choice of helping versus fleeing was one she always made the same way. Haesel kept her eyes wide as she moved deeper, checking everywhere she could. She made the mistake of relaxing going down a hallway, only to jump when a board fell from the ceiling in front of her.

"Stupid old decrepit place." She muttered, absent-minded as she wiped at her nose.

Going to her right first, Haesel entered a area that seemed more like a shrine rather than a break room to her. The six pedestals, each with a hand drawn picture of what should be placed there.

"Wrench, Gear, Record, Plush, Book and Ink well. Now where have I seem one of these things? Oh wait, the ink machine room. Funny assholes. Real funny." Haesel said, as she copied her list down on a piece of paper from her bag.

Moving back out of the supposed break room, the animator almost didn't notice the cutout in front of her as she put the paper back in her bag, jumping when she did notice.

"Geez, if Drew saw, he wouldn't let me live that down. Who put you here? I sure didn't hear anyone walking around here. Why do I find demons cute? I'm blaming Dad." Haesel said, her eyes moving past the cutout to something behind it.

"Omne nefas... is that Boris?" Haesel asked, as she tripped over feet to get a closer look.

Her brain couldn't accept what her eyes took in, and once again Haesel was glad for her ability to not throw up bile upon seeing the horrible sight that greeted her.

Wanting to get away, Haesel cautiously reached for the wrench tucked into the broken rib cage, almost slipping on the ink and falling in to the pit under the cartoon corpse, only to feel inky hands grab her waist and stabilize her for only long enough to grab her objective.

"Creepy. Shoot." Haesel looked around for what could have helped her only to see what was on her hand from earlier.

Pulling out one of the handkerchiefs Henry gave her, Haesel held it to her nose to collect the fluid falling from it.

Making her way around the studio, Haesel was able to find everything she needed, including taking a break to play darts in the area where she found the book ' _Illusion of Living'_ written by the very man who invited her to the decrepit studio.

"Why do I always make the worse decisions when it comes to choices? I'm sure somehow, I'm either gonna die or be changed in someway. Lets march forward to my death." Haesel muttered again as she made her way back to the break room to deposit all the donated items on their pedestals. Turning to the switch, the blinking words had changed.

'Low Pressure'

"Now someone is messing around. Why so much effort to turn it on?" Haesel asked, once again turning to leave to find a way to increase the pressure.

In place of the cutout, which had disappeared when she came back from collecting, an ink shape stood, watching her without any visible eyes.

The only defining factor was the slightly melted horns.

"Bendy? Were you the one to help me earlier?" Haesel asked, her voice starting to squeak as her nose started to drip again.

The figure didn't say anything, melting into a puddle before it merged with Haesel's shadow, making it darker than the other ones.

Slightly concerned with the actions of the ink creature, Haesel made her way through the studio again to find some way to increase the pressure. A slight pressure in her core, from the creature in her shadow, led her to an area she barely explored before in her search for the offerings, as a tape marked with the name Wally Franks stated.

Now aware of another sentient figure, if she could call the ink creature that, Haesel was far more careful with her reactions when the cutout peaked around the corner.

When the projector turned on, the ink creature pulled itself from Haesel's shadow, waiting just outside the room as she entered.

"Still cute and I'm still probably selling my soul to the devil for this, if I had one that I cared about." Haesel said, finding a button labelled FLOW and pressing it, causing a flow of Ink into the room.

"deorum mei da fortitudinem, I hate being covered in Ink." Haesel grumbled, making her way back to the entrance, and to the ink creature.

"Are you laughing at me? Its not funny asshole." Haesel turned to the creature, once her ears registered the slight wheezing sounds as a laugh.

Angry mutters, both towards the demon and herself, followed Haesel like a cloud, near visible like in a cartoon, as she made her way back towards the break room again, hoping it was for the last time she had to make the walk. While she was glad for her black boots to hide the ink, when it dried, it made they stiff and annoying.

Pulling on the slightly stuck switch, Haesel listened for anything over the roaring of the ink as it moved fast through the pipes lining the walls. Something twisted in her gut, begging her to leave, even as she pushed it away to investigate the ink machine again.

' _Rest in peace as this will be my grave. I will end up just like them.'_ A high pitched voice, similar to the one she used for Mackenzie, said in the back of her mind, as dark as ink and as deep as the studio apparently.

The ink demon that sat in her shadow disappeared, unease settling further into her gut.

The entrance was suddenly boarded up, causing pause in the young animator, before she slowly made her way closer.

A different version of Bendy, as off-model as the one that helped her, appeared and seemed to regard her with a sick kind interest, like a killer would when they try to decide how to carve up a victim.

'Haesel Ross' It called to her, swiping a large arm towards her, as if it couldn't control its limbs.

"Mr. Drew, I'm guessing then. What abomination have you created?" Haesel inched backwards slowly, keeping what eye contact she could.

'Not an abomination. A new way of life. Life for Henry.' The demon replied.

"By testing on your employees? Dad wouldn't like what you've done. He tries to bury you in his past, something I don't even know." Haesel replied, almost back to where she could flee.

'Then join them in your grave, your prison. Henry will come. This I know.' The demon bared its sharp fangs as it started to flood the studio.

Haesel gave up the pretense of calm and collected as she turned tail and fled through the studio, dodging ink puddles and falling pieces from all over the place.

Her boots were loud as she splashed through the areas back towards the entrance, but couldn't drown out the roaring of the ink demon behind her, calling for her head.

The ink creature that had helped her before appeared, bigger due to the influx of ink in the area, and directed her back to the entrance. As she went for the final dash to get out, her eyes registered the faint glow of something just before it under the ink, when the ink creature grabbed her, surrounding her in ink that felt warm, like it was a body wrapped around her, as boards gave way under her feet. It couldn't stop her head from bouncing against floor when they reached the bottom of the drop.

When Haesel could open her eyes again, all she saw was black ink that felt like fur against her face. Raising her head, she saw the white bow tie and the floating head above that, her mind connected the dots. Bendy was curled around her, protective in how tense his shoulders were.

"You're finally awake. I was scared my attempt to save you was all for naught when you weren't moving after the fall. I'm sorry I left ya at the mercy of the Liar, but had he sensed me, it woulda been worse. We should move lower. He sticks to the upper levels since some of his 'creations' want his head on a platter." The cartoon demon said, helping the animator to her feet.

"Do you know what he has been doing? What he is doing with the machine or why he wants Henry?" Haesel asked, wiping ink from her eyes.

"The Creator? I don't know, toots. Come on, we can't go up so we might as well keep moving." Bendy said, grabbing her wrist to pull her along.

Haesel knew the demon was telling the truth and she had no way of getting back without trying to scale the walls, probably slick with ink to get back up. Further in the studio, with only candles and Bendy's advance eyesight in the dark lead the animator to a room that would have scared her if she had seen it before the abomination that had become Joey Drew.

A pentagram drawn in ink, surrounded by candles and coffins that the animator hoped were empty. Walking ahead of the ink creature, Haesel went to inspect the pentagram, seeing if she could match the symbols to its purpose, when her vision blurred. Flashes of visions passed through, showing things she didn't understand, and when she could finally see again, it was blacking out with the demon with her calling her toots as she fell into obliviousness.

 **Drew**

One of the first things that Drew did when he found out that Haesel wasn't at home was check her room. As rare as it was for any of them to enter her room without her already in there, Drew knew that there had to be something up for her to disappear so suddenly and without any indication of where she went. Ink bottles, some empty and some half full, littered her floor. Nothing seemed out of order at first glance until Drew decided to closer inspect the cork boards. Some of the character models were missing, carefully removed from the boards, and so was one of the newer sketch books that laid in piles around the room. The portfolio book and a few of the full ink bottles were gone, along with her bag. A quick look in her closet showed it had been wreaked, as if Haesel was digging for something she had hidden in a hurried matter. Her desk was also in an unusual matter of disarray. A check through the drawers noted that her phone and portable charger were gone, along with the portable drawing tablet. The question that still plagued Drew was why? Why take certain things but not others? Why change her routine? Why leave no note?

Turning to leave, Drew noticed something that was newer on the cork board closest to the door, usually reserved for reminders to Haesel from herself or Henry, when he couldn't reach his daughter and got one of the others.

 **Contact Henry if I'm not back or dead from the Studio by tomorrow night. -HR**

Ripping the note off the board, Drew retreated back to his own room to do research. Haesel knew something and it was up to Drew to figure out what she found and help her. The note was obviously meant for him, as she knew he would be the first to check out her room when her lack of presence became known. There was also a print of ink in the lower corner, something that wouldn't be there if Haesel written it last night, preferring to be online rather than working on one of the newer shorts when she was angry about something. There was also code written in the short message, something Haesel only did when she knew she was being watched by someone she didn't trust.

1) No number. Henry changed his often enough that Haesel always included the most recent on her notes to Drew, meaning Drew would have to use one of Haesel's account to contact the old animator.

2) use of 'or dead'. Haesel only used when she was sure of a deadly presence was involved in some way. From experience, Drew knew that Haesel had a hard time dying from practically anything.

3) Studio was capitalized. They always referred to Henry's old work place as the Studio, giving Drew a point of reference of where she went.

4) Tomorrow night. By the code, it meant as soon as dusk hit. Henry always had Haesel return home by dusk, giving her some wiggle room in curfew.

Drew took the time to check the sun outside, seeing that it was getting close to dusk, and he still had no answers as to why Haesel disappeared as she did. Turn his attention back to what he knew, Drew started to think up a plan.

First on his list was getting in contact with Henry. If the anyone knew what was going on with this mystery Joey Drew, it would be the old animator. Drew figure the best way to spend his time waiting for dusk to arrive was to do research. His best bet was to look into the cartoons made during his time at the Studio and see where he went from there.

Hours later, Drew had a list of names of workers from the studio and current living addresses. Most of the names were crossed off, people who got a mystery letter in the mail and disappeared the next day, with no communication afterwards. Others said that the one he was calling for had never came home thirty years ago,gone forever. All they had in common was they all worked at the same studio that shut down thirty years ago, not long after Henry himself left. The disappearances date to around ten years ago, with the exception of the ones from after the studio closed, with Shawn Flynn and Haesel being the most recent. Dusk had hit and passed and Drew opened a new tab on his computer.

Logging onto the network in Haesel's room, Drew navigated his way to the chat client that Haesel and Henry used.

 **Muse: Henry, we have a problem.**

 **Ink: Drew? Where is Haesel, she should have messaged me by now.**

 **Muse: Thats the problem. She left a note for me on one of her cork boards. She went to the studio today, and isn't home**

 **Muse: she also mentioned a potential death situation**

 **Ink: THE STUDIO?!**

 **Ink: Why did she go Drew? How did she know where to go? I tried so damn hard to keep her away from there**

 **Muse: Why? What is so bad about the studio?**

 **Muse: she got a letter from some one named Joey Drew.**

 **Ink: Joey? No Drew this is very bad**

 **Ink: Joey has wanted her since I stole her from under his nose thirty years ago**

 **Ink: The studio will become her prison if not her hell or death trap**

 **I hate how long it took to write this and how much my shoulders hurt hunched over my laptop. I hate school but college at least has interesting people.**

 **Next Chapter: Haesel makes her way through the music department with a demon in tow and Drew learns more about Henry's past.**

 **Ciao!**


End file.
